shepherd



C. 0. SHEPHERDl FOLDING CRATE 0R BOX.

. 'APPLICATION FILED MAR- 19, 199. Y

1,323, 109. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A TTORNEY.

C. 0. SHEPHERD.

FOLDING CRATE 0H BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, 1919.

l1 ,323, 1 09. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l WITNESS" 24W INVENTOR.

.d-/leyohfevf ATTORNEY.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

CHARLES o. SHEPHERD, or NEW' YORK, N. Y. f e

FOLDING cnATEoR BOX.

Y To all ech/m z'z may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES O. SHEPHERD, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, inthe county of New York andState of New York,.have invented new and useful Improvements in Folding Crates or Boxes, of which the following is 'a specification. l

y'This invention relatesto shipping boxes or crates and has for its object the provision ofv a` containerso constructed that the comp'onent parts thereof may be easilyV and quickly folded to occupy but little space for .convenience in transportation or storage. 15

An important and more vspecic obj ect is the provision of a folding crate or box in which the ends and partitions are foldable to lie flat upon thef-bottom for upon one another and in which the y'sides linclude panels similarly hinged to lie upon the folded ends and partitions and further including strips hingedly connected with the top and bottom formation andv hinged lat their centers for inward collapsing whereby the top frame may be disposed directly upon the bottom frame whereby to provide a structurewhich will occupy the minimum space. y f

A further object is the provision of a device of this character in which the ends are held in extendedrposition by securing members carriedby the top frame, the sides Vbeing prevented from collapsing by the extended ends and also held by securing members. A 5

An additional object isthe provision of a folding container of this character which will be simple andy inexpensivey in manufacture, highly efficient and extremely convenient in use, durable in service, and a gen eral improvement in art.

lVith the above and otherobjects and advantages in view, the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crate in extended position.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the crate in folded position,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough, and

Y Specification of Letters Patent. e Patented NOV. 25, 19.19. Application led March 19, 1919. Serial No. 283,467. l 'Y Y Y Y l F ig. 6 is a cross sectional view.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the bottom of the device'is shown .as

rectangular shape and is formed of a bottom frame. o Y Y The top frame comprises end and side strips 14 and 15, respectively, suitablysecured together by corner braces 16. Hinged, as shown at 17, upon the upper edge of'one of the side strips '15, is the cover 18 which carriesat its edgesV depending wire'vmembersr19, for a purpose to be described. Y

The ends of the container are designated by the numeral 20 and these ends are hinged,

as shown at 21, upon the bottom proper 1'0 and are adapted to be disposed against the inner faces of the strips 12 and 14 ofthe bottom and top frames, respectively.vr Turn Y buttons 22Y are pivoted upon thefaces of the end strips 14 and are engageable over the upper edges'of the ends 20 for holding the'VV endsVV against folding movement. If preferred, a piartitioni23 may also be hinged upon the bottom r10, as shown at 24. Anyv desired means mayv b e employed yfor hold- Y ing the partition in vertical position.

- Each of the'sidesis formed as a panel 24a hinged at its lower edge, as shown at 24h,

Vupon the side strips l1 of thebottom frame.

These panels are foldable inwardly in the z same manner as the-ends 20 'and are held in extended position by turn buttonsy 22, also `thesaine as the ends 20. It will further beobserved that the panels 24a are disposed outwardly of thefends 20V and will also be preventedy from Vcollapsing or folding by their engagement with the ends. Each side further includes corner and' center strips each formed in two sections 25 and 26 which are hingedly connected at their meeting edges, as shown at 27, and which archingedly connected with the side bars l5 and 11 of the top and bottom frames, respectively, as shown at 28 and 29.

When the container is in extended or set upV condition, the parts `are arranged as shown in Figs. l to 3, inclusive, that is the ends 20 are disposed invertical position and have their upper edges engaged by the turn buttons 22. This position of the ends holds be obvious. The cover 18 is secured in position upon the top frame by engagement of the depending wires 19 thereon with cofp-Y' erating screw eyes, or the like, 30, carried by one of the side strips 15. The end strips 14 may have secured thereon, if desired, `handles 31 by means of which the crate may be very easily handled.

When it is desired to collapse the con'- tainer, it is first necessary that the operator disengage the wires 19 from the screw eyes 30 and swing the cover 18 upon its hinges 17, after which the turn buttons 22 are disengaged from the ends 2O and the ends 2O are swung inwardly toward each other and onto the bottom 10. The turn buttons 22 holding the side panels 24a are then turned, after which the side panels are swung inwardly onto the folded ends and partitions or onto each other, depending upon whether the width is greater or less than twice the height of the crate. The side strips formed by the sections 25 and 26 are then broke inwardly, the sections swinging upon the hinges 27, 28 and 29 until they have their outer faces contacting, as clearly shown in F ig. 6. This folding of the sections 25 and 2G results in or is accomplished by moving the top frame toward the bottom frame. When the device is fully collapsed the top frame will lie immediately above the bottom frame and the device will have but little height. The cover 18 is then swung onto the top frame, after which the wires 19 are engaged within screw eyes 32 extending from the end strips 12 and one side strip 11 v of the bottom frame, as clearly shown in Fig. 1l. The parts will thus be held in folded position.

From the foregoing description and a study of the vdrawings it will be apparent that l havel thus provided a very simply constructed shipping box or crate which may be very readily extended for use and as easily collapsed or folded so as to occupy the minimum space.

While l have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is of course to be understood that l reserve the right to make such changes in the form,

construction, and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim z- 1. A collapsible shipping box comprising a bottom frame, an open top frame, a cover hinged upon and forming a closure for said top frame, lend walls hinged upon said bottom frame and swingable to lie selectively upon said bottom frame or in engagement with the inner faces of the ends of said top frame, means for holding said. end walls in engagement withsaid top frame, side panels hingedy upon said bottom frame and swingable to be folded onto' said folded end walls or to lie against the inner faces of the sides of said top frame, ,means for holding ysaid side panels against inward folding, and side strips each formed in two sections hingedly connected at their centers for inward collapsing and having their ends hingedly con-V nected with said top and bottom frames.

2. A collapsible shippingl box comprising a bottom, side and end strips secured to and extending upwardly from said bottom for forming a frame, an openl rectangular ltop frame of the 'same dimensions as saidbottom frame and including side and end strips, end walls hinged upon the end strips of said bottom frame and engaging the inner faces of the end vstrips of the top frame, turn buttons carriedby the end strips of the top frame and engaging said end walls, side panels hinged upon the side strips of the bottom frame and engaging against the inner faces of the side strips of the top frame outwardly ofthe edges oflsaid end walls, and a plurality of strips formed inV sections hingedly connected at their vcenters and hingedly connected at their ends with the sides of said top and bottom frames, said end walls and said side panels being foldable inwardly and said hinged strips being breakable inwardly whereby said ytop frame vmay -lie directly upon ysaid 'bottom frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

y C. O. SHEPHERB. 

